Swimming Until We Drown
by chaelip
Summary: Nick really had turned Savage. Judy found a tiny vent and managed to escape. Then Nick comes back to himself, and apparently he killed Judy that day. Now he's sitting in a cage, going mad. The guards don't really like him. Seriously, a dark fic. Don't read if you have triggers or if you're looking for a happy fluffy fic. Crap summary is crap. Also found on AO3.
1. Chapter 1

Bellwether smirked as she raised the Night Howler gun. "I'm not going to kill you, Judy," She snarled, aiming it at Nick's gaping face.  
Judy's eyes widened in horror as the tiny blue ball shot from the gun and hit Nick's furry red neck with a crack of blue that splattered around the surrounding fur. The rabbit fell beside her partner, mouth wide in horror as Nick collapsed onto the ground and shook, thrashing and convulsing. "Judy!" He managed to gasp out before pain overcame him and he literally howled in agony.

"Nick! Nick, fight it! You are stronger than this, this isn't you, Nick!" Judy said hurriedly, biting her lip as Nick recoiled in pain.  
"Make it stop, please, oh god, oh god..." Nick pleaded, whimpering. Nick didn't whimper.

Dawn Bellwether rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "Just give in, already, you stupid fox. One way or another the liquid will sink in, so there's no point in trying to stay sane."

"You leave him alone, Bellwether!" Judy screamed, glaring at the petite sheep standing innocently from above. Dawn was on her phone, smirking.  
"Yes, please hurry to the museum! We've got a Savage fox! Officer Hopps is down, too!" She squeaked out, feigning terror. Judy's lip curled into an ugly scowl.  
"You monster."

Dawn raised an eyebrow, hanging up the call with a click. "I'm not the monster, Judy. He is."

Turning to her friend, who... well...  
Nick had changed, apparently. He was baring his teeth and his claws unsheathed. Judy yelped in fear and jumped away from the sharp claws that slammed into the ground where she had previously been. This isn't Nick. It isn't. This is the Nigh Howlers and Bellwether- not Nick. Not Gideon Grey. It's the liquid. Judy repeated the sentence in her head a few times, dodging oncoming blows.

The bloodthirsty look contrasted with the usual aloof expression that graced Nick's face- the threatening one that had replaced it looked wrong. Judy cried out as Nick's claw snagged on her ear, not quite tearing it but making a nasty scratch that'd hurt like a bitch later.

He's going to kill me if I don't get out now! Judy thought frantically, pawing the fake grass for an escape.

Metal.

Judy's nose twitched in anticipation as her paw hit something metal on the ground hidden by clumps of thick fake bushes. She pawed away the bushes and stared at the metal vent on the ground. It had obviously been made by a larger animal because Judy could fit through- barely.  
Nick wouldn't be able to follow.

It was a split second decision, but Judy squeezed through the bars and into the tunnels, heart pounding in her chest.

Meanwhile, Bellwether frowned when neither Judy or Nick came out of the fake-diorama bushes. After a moment of tense silence, the feral Nick slunk out unhappily, snapping his jaws together and his tail trashing behind him.

It seemed that Judy Hopps was dead. What a pity.

The Assistant Mayor smiled, snapping her fingers and ordering Doug to take care of Nick Wilde. She had some things to say to that idiotic fox when he came back to himself. Things were beginning to look in her favor, too, if she could get some footage of a savage.

"It is with great sorrow that we announce our first rabbit officer has tragically died on the case of animals going Savage. She has been brutally murdered by Zootopia local Nick Wilde, a fox from the predator family who has also gone savage. Viewer discretion is advised for graphic images. If you don't want to witness the horrific Savage behavior, we advise you to look away now."

Dawn snapped her fingers and Doug began filming Nick, who was still prowling around the sunken exhibit.

On the news broadcast, Nick's live footage began playing and Bellwether stood in front of the camera to talk to the entirety of Zootopia.  
"See, I just heard a noise so I walked in and officer Judy Hopps was here, too, see, and suddenly Nick Wilde comes running in and he tackles Judy into this pit and he tore her apart in those bushes there! He's Savage!" Dawn shrieked, acting traumatized.

Nick's dilated pupils focused on the stuffed deer that had been placed in the exhibit and he pounced on it, tearing it to shreds. Bellwether gave another horrified gasp. "Someone stop the predators in Zootopia! They'll kill us all!"

It was only five minutes later that the hashtags '#stopthepredators', '#foxmurdersrabit', '#prayforprey', and '#foxesarekillers' started trending.

Judy looked up from her seat in the coffee shop. The local TV station was raging about Nick Wilde 'murdering' the first historic police officer rabbit, herself. They were filming Nick, putting him on camera for the world to see. She sighed from under her black hood. Incognito was her specialty.

Another headline flashed across the screen, making all the customers look up excitedly.

Murderous Savage Fox Nick Wilde Neutralized!

Judy's eyes widened to saucers. The prey animals around the shop let out an audible gasp of relief at the news, but Judy sunk deeper into her chair, pulling the mug of coffee closer to her heart. She had to help Nick, somehow.

This wasn't him.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick woke up to a splitting headache and white-hot pain in his neck.  
"Wh't the h'll?" He mumbled, his voice was raw and scratchy like grating sand.

He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get the 'good-morning-blur' out of his eyes. All he could see was darkness, however, and he suddenly wondered if his eyes really were open. They felt like they were, but he had never seen such a void of empty black. Not like this. Usually his eyes could adjust well enough to the dark that he could see fine. Night vision, that's what other animals called it. In some instances it didn't work, like when there was no light whatsoever. Like this instance.

Nick groaned and reached up to rub at his aching neck, when a tug brought his paw back to a cold piece of metal. Chains?

His ears perked up, and at once he was on alert for any danger. "Hello?" He called, still wincing at how weak his voice sounded. "Hey! Where am I?" Nick pulled at his chains again, and as his body adjusted to the environment, shifted around a bit, and he got himself more coordinated, he dismayed at the realization that he was cuffed to a medical bed in a hospital somewhere.  
With the lights turned off.

Well, either the lights were off or Nick was in the hospital because he had damaged his eyes somehow. The fox shuddered at the thought of losing his precious eyes. Then confusion- because why was he in the hospital? He couldn't remember any- oh.  
Nick sank into whatever medical chair he was in, anxiety and betrayal setting in. He remembered Judy hurting her leg inside a museum or something. He remembered Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether talking about 'ninety percent of the population' and how awful predators were.

Ah, yes.  
Biology. Fox. Predator. He was a fox. He was a monster, and he was-

Nick suddenly thrashed violently, trying to escape, as a horrifying revelation unveiled itself inside his head. Is that why I'm here? Did I turn Savage? Did I hurt Judy- is that why her leg was- oh no, oh no... His thoughts whirled into an endless, mindless blabber of panic and distress. "Fuck..." He muttered under his breath, biting his tongue.

With a bang, blindingly white light punched him into reality as some sort of dental lamp turned on, aimed directly at his face and forcing purple dots in his vision. He yelped in surprise and his paws jerked against the cuffs.

"I can't believe I got stuck with you. Two doors down we've got an actual Savage- this huge lion guy. Except Marco is guarding him, so they gave you to me. And you aren't even Savage!"

Nick, still stunned from the light (still) shining directly into his eyes, frowned slightly at the voice. It wasn't Bellwether and it didn't sound like anyone he knew- and he knew everybody.

"What are you doing here?"

A cold chuckle came from the creature hovering over him. "I'm your new guard, you pathetic fox."  
Nick grimaced at the term being used so carelessly. He hated that the word 'fox' had become an adjective. Even if he was a fox, this guy had no right to say it like it was awful.

Isn't it?

Nick pushed his thoughts away angrily. He didn't want to think abut that right now. Instead he had to find out why he was here, what happened, and how he could get out quickly and efficiently. He quickly made a checklist in his head.

Step one: collect and control your emotions.

"My new guard, huh?" Nick asked casually, relaxing into the cuffs and putting a slightly amused expression on. The guard raised an eyebrow at the change.  
"Yeah. That's right."  
Nick smirked. "You sure? Because I didn't think they let cowards be guards."  
The light was still blinding Nick, but he could practically feel the anger his new 'guard' was exerting.

"You listen here, Wilde, I happen to be-"

Nick interrupted sharply. "Then why am I tied down to this hospital bed? I still feel weak, yet you thought extra precaution might be necessary?"

There was a sharp inhale and an angry growling noise. Nick kept calm but inwardly hoped he hadn't managed to piss off a tiger or some potentially dangerous predator. The guard spoke once again.  
"I know what you're doing, kid, and it ain't working on me. You think you can read people so well? Well, you read me wrong, apparently. I'm not an idiot. I've worked side by side with Doug for years, even beside Bellwether for a few. I'm top-notch, and you aren't getting anywhere."

There was a squeak of metal and Nick wanted to gasp in relief. The guard had turned the lamp away, lighting the room without blinding the fox. He smiled genuinely. "So you say..."  
Now that nick could see more than shadows and light, he could see the guard clearly. He was a muscly tiger, standing at least a foot taller than Nick. Spoke too soon.

Nick said nothing else but continued looking around. He was lying on a hospital bed like he had deduced, his paws bound to the armrests with coils of rope, zip-ties, and handcuffs. That seemed a bit excessive.

He was in a prison style room with one glass wall. Basic needs sat to the left such as a toilet. In fact, that was all. The bed and the toilet. Lovely.  
With shocking clarity Nick realized he was in the prisons that Judy and he had seen. The ones for Savage animals. Nick frowned. He wasn't Savage.

"Why am I here? Who are you-like, what's your name?" He finally asked, vacantly tugging on his restraints once again, and finding that there were also cuffs on his ankles. Mr. Tiger-Guard smiled with far too many teeth- it looked more like a snarl than a smile.  
"I'll tell you because you're pretty, foxy. I'm Jac. You're here because Miss Bellwether found you in the museum."

"Yes, what happened, exactly?" Nick said, cutting to the chase. He ignored the comment about him being a 'pretty foxy'. He needed answers.

"You don't remember? Well, apparently you had already gone Savage and you killed that famous Police Bunny girl. They had this whole thing about it on the news- it's still going viral. They didn't show any blood or anything because it was national news, but they did get some pretty good clips of you. Apparently it was pretty gruesome."

A low, choked sob came gasping from the shadows, and Nick blinked in confusion, not realizing that it was he who made the noise until he felt the tears run down his neck. And then the dam broke and he full out shattered. Hysterical, broken moans and screams tore through his throat and he thrashed against his restraints, not even sure what he was trying to accomplish. Another hoarse, wrenching scream echoed across the room and Jac took a step back in shock.

He immediately pulled out some sort of walkie-talkie. "He's going batshit crazy down here! Jesus- hurry!" He called, picking up a metal rod from the table on the other side of the room. He put down the microphone and smirked, aiming it at Nick's skull. "Sorry, foxy, this is going to hurt."

Judy pulled the dark hood farther over her face and quickly forced her ears to lie flat against her head. She had been going undercover for awhile, not exactly sure what to do. Obviously she had to help Nick escape, somehow...  
Unfortunately it had only taken three days for revolts to begin, and Zootopia was crumbling.

Most Prey animals were starting up the argument that Assistant Mayor Bellwether should become Mayor just in case, and the entire idea made Judy queasy. What would become of the predator family? Dawn Bellwether had even made statements for the public about it.

"If I was mayor, I would continue to lead Zootopia into peace- but peace is only disrupted by Savages. Not all predators, obviously, but if we as citizens are threatened, something must be done! If predators are threatening our peace, then we must act, as the majority of Zootopia!"

It made Judy sick. She wondered how Nick was faring. Hopefully he could hold on and not die from boredom before she rescued him.

She noticed a rather large group of protesters walking down the street towards her, so she quietly darted into a nearby alleyway, waiting for them to pass by. One of the signs was held by a small Zebra girl who looked like she was still in grade school. It said, "Don't Let The Foxes Get Me" and a picture of Nick from the one news broadcast. Judy felt her face go red in humiliated anger. She hated seeing the very popular newscast of her best friend spread out as propaganda.

But she stayed in the alleyway, hidden in her giant black hoodie, until the crowd passed.

Judy clenched her paws into fists and fumed to herself. She had no idea what to do. If she was Bellwether, where would she hide a prisoner? It wasn't like Dawn Bellwether just owned a secret prison to store Savages-

Aahhh.

The bunny hopped out of the alleyway and down the road, her hope renewed. Yet the thought of Nick sitting in one of those cages, bored out of his mind and waiting for her to rescue him made her frown. A horrible, horrible thought passed through her mind. Would they muzzle him?

Judy raced down the street, anger striking in her heart. If Dawn was to become Mayor Bellwether, she'd have to go through Judy Hopps, first rabbit officer! There was no way that Judy was letting Bellwether take away the rights of innocent Predators. All she needed was to free Nick, show the world who Dawn Bellwether really was, get evidence of the Night Howlers, and prove to Zootopia that she was alive and...

This was going to be harder than she originally thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Nick felt a strange sense of Déjà vu as he awoke from unconsciousness, once again, in a dark room tied to a hospital bed with a skull-splitting headache.

This time it wasn't as dark as usual, just very dim. He could easily recognize the fact that he was in one of the cells he and Judy had seen at Cliffside, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Judy. Nick couldn't even cry anymore- he felt completely drained emotionally and physically, which was probably for the best. He was tired of crying.

He tugged at his restraints without real effort, but he was shocked as the rope ties loosened immediately. "What the heck?" He muttered, leaning his neck forward and using his teeth to untangle the rope. It fell off lifelessly, and he nearly laughed out loud at how pathetic this was getting. Were they even trying?

Hell, his ankles weren't even slightly restrained! And his wrists had only been tied with the rope.

Nick raised an eyebrow and let out a low growl, sitting up and sliding off of the hospital bed. It was a bit lighter in the room, so he could make out the hallway outside the glass wall and another cage on the other side. He walked over (stumbled, really, as he was still a bit wobbly on his feet) and peered out the glass, making it fog up with his breath. It was too dark to make out any other animals in the cage across from him.

Probably for the best.

He really didn't want to see the type of predator he had become. Savage.

Nick felt his lungs burn and his throat itch as he thought of Judy. "I killed her." He whispered in horror, slinking under the medi-bed and curling into a ball, tucking his head under his bushy tail in shame. He was horrified- he just couldn't process hurting, let alone killing, Judy Hopps. She was the first to believe in him, and the first to be his friend. Finnick was his con-artist-partner, but they had never been close. They conned, they made Pawpsicles, they split the money. They never had gotten close, and it was never a good idea to get close with a con-artist-partner. Don't trust anyone.

That had been his motto. Keep your emotions in check, fake it 'till you make it, money is power, the law has loopholes, and don't let anyone in. Trust is for masochists who were trying to get themselves hurt.

And yet Judy had ignored his attempts to get rid of him, weaseled her way into her heart, and Nick, in return, had killed her. Cold-blooded murder.

Nick sobbed again before he could stop himself and curled up into a tighter ball. He couldn't comprehend it. He killed Judy. He killed Judy.  
The little bunny that followed her dreams, the one that was constantly trying to make the world a better place. Nick closed his eyes.

Eyes with galaxies inside them.

He opened his eyes once again, and jolted in shock, hitting his head on the metal bed frame. His eyes grew as wide as saucers and he nearly burst into tears at the sight.

Judy was standing in his cell, leaning against the glass wall with a smirk.

Nick scrambled out from under the bed and broke into a grin. "Judy! I thought you... they said- you- y-you, oh my god... Judy!" He pawed away at his eyes but the tears just kept coming. Judy was still smirking. As Nick reached forward to hug his best friend, her smirk became more sad than smug and she shook her head.

As soon as Nick's paw touched Judy, she vanished in a blink.

Nick froze in horror. Just a hallucination? He snarled and slammed his fist against the glass where Judy had been standing. "Dammit!" He choked out, sliding to the ground again, lightly banging the back of his head against the glass.

"Come back, Judy... I'm so sorry..."

Judy was having a difficult time. She had never felt this lonely, even when she was a little kid trying to prove she was worth it.

She couldn't turn to her best friend- who was currently in jail somewhere-, she couldn't turn to the ZPD- which had been completely renewed with an all-prey staff- and she couldn't even turn to her family in Bunnyburrow because they all believed she was dead and they were being supervised by police in case they got hurt.

It was something she would have to do by herself.

Obviously she would have to get to Cliffside somehow and see if Nick was there. If he wasn't, she didn't know what she'd do. If he was, she'd have to come up with a way to break him out. She knew for a fact that after Nick and she had escaped through the toilet the first time, they had put in an entire sewer system that was much, much smaller. Not even a mouse could fit through the spout going into the falls.

She needed tools. Supplies. She had lost all of her officer equipment with the exception of her Fox Repellent Spray. Ironic, huh.

"Help! I didn't do anything wrong!"

Judy's ears tilted and her head jolted to the anguished cry. Her violet eyes narrowed when she saw three brown gazelles with ZPD officer uniforms manhandling a female snow leopard to the pavement, with several frightened citizens standing nearby. There were also a few prey protester groups cheering the officers on, which made Judy sick. She started walking over angrily before realizing that she had no power anymore.  
According to the government, she was dead. And if she was seen trying to help an innocent predator, it was obvious that she'd be arrested for aiding a 'Savage', either that, or Bellwether would realize her mistakes and take care of Judy herself.

So instead of breaking it up, Judy watched from a distance, hating herself for letting this happen to the snow leopard who was still writhing on the ground screaming.

"I have three children that need me! You can't do this! What did I do wrong?"

Judy remembered when Nick told her about his past. What did I do wrong?

She felt her nails dig into the pad of her paws. This wasn't the Zootopia she knew. This wasn't the way the world was supposed to work. Predators weren't supposed to be taken from their homes and families simply because of what race they were. The entire point of Zootopia was that Predator and Prey lived in harmony, and each animal given the chance to be whatever they wanted to be.

But watching this mother get cuffed and hauled into a police car... Judy realized that Zootopia was changing. 90% of the population was prey, and it would be easy when the elections came to vote for Assistant Mayor Bellwether and be done with it.

The elections were in a week. Somehow, Judy had to change everyone's mind before the next Tuesday.

She sat on the city bench, feeling even smaller than before. She had no idea what to do. She needed her partner- she needed Nick's advice.

With a deep breath she decided that it would be too risky to go out and buy supplies. It was time to break into Cliffside and break Nick out. Then at least she would have someone to communicate with and together they could make sure that Bellwether never became mayor.

Nick was still sobbing to himself against the glass when Jac came back in.

"Marco came by earlier, he told me you've been hallucinatin' or somethin'. Finally gettin' to you, isn't it?" Jac slurred, sounding somewhat drunk. Nick just curled in on himself more, not in the mood for any of this.

"Go away." He finally said quietly. It wasn't even worth a shot, but he wasn't going to just hide in his own fur. Jac laughed darkly. "Mmhhmm. You're dumber than I thought. I thought you'd take a hint and stay in your bed, pretty foxy. N'ghty foxy."

Nick blinked and felt a shiver go down his spine. Jac- drunk or not- was disturbing. He didn't like being called 'pretty foxy', either.

A fist cracked against Nick's jaw and he flew across the room, slamming him into the wall and making him groan. Jac's eyebrow raised and he raised a giant stripped first again. "Not talking anymore? And they said foxes were supposed to have silvertongues."

Nick really didn't like drunk Jac.

He curled into himself once again and pulled away from reality, trying to meditate himself into a stream of numbness. It's a hallucination, none of this is real, this isn't happening...

Unfortunately it didn't work, and he let out a hoarse scream as Jac stomped on Nick's arm in frustration, trying to elicit a response. Jac smiled at the noise. "There we go, there we go. That's what happens when you decide to explore by yourself. Next time, take a h'nt and stay in the bed, yeah, foxy?" He tried not to gag as Jac reeked of alcohol. Nick weakly nodded, cradling his broken arm in agony.

Jac smiled. "So it can learn."


	4. Chapter 4

Nick finally got the pleasure of meeting Marco. He was a huge bull, five times as big as Nick, twice as big as Jac, and he had a big, heavy, gold ring through his nostrils. He had an overall tough air about him, but the vibes he put off were definitely... odd.

The first time Marco stopped by to see Jac, Nick had just taken a beating and was lying in a muddled, half-awake heap in the corner, still protectively guarding his painful broken bone as best he could. Jac had just finished with the daily pounding, and he was laying on the medi-bed, in complete zen.

"Jac."

Both Nick and Jac sprung at the voice in fear- (Jac because he had nearly been sleeping on the job, and Nick because he was afraid of everything these days,) until Jac noticed his guard friend and he grinned widely.

"Hey, Marco! Why aren't 'cha guarding that big 'ol mean lion back there?"  
Marco's expression was still blank. "Jac, what are you doing?"

"What'da'ya mean?" Jac asked, sitting up a bit.

"Nicholas Wilde isn't technically a Savage, but you still much guard him like he is one. Bellwether won't be pleased if she catches you."

By this time Nick was staring at the scene, completely taken aback by how calm Marco sounded. Besides his rough exterior, he didn't seem as cruel as Jac.  
"Aw, don't be like that, buddy! I've got him under control. One-hundred percent!"  
"How can you be sure?" Marco asked, turning to the pretend-sleeping fox in the corner. Marco saw through him in an instant and he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "He is fooling you right now, Jac. Did you honestly think he was sleeping?"

At that Jac whirled around to face Nick, who immediately curled in on himself tighter and winced, knowing the gig was up. Damn Marco, damn him.

"You tryin' to do something?! You messin' with me?! Well, I thought I taught you your lesson yesterday, but if it didn't stick-"

"Jac, what are you doing?"

A long pause ensued before Jac, flabbergasted, pointed at Nick. "I'm teaching him a lesson, obviously. How do you keep Mr. Lion under control in his cell? You ask him nicely not to bite or kill?" Jac sneered, although he looked a bit confused. Marco grunted.

"I do the proper cell procedure and I keep him cuffed. We are only here to guard them, not 'teach' them anything, Jac. Bellwether hired us to do a job, not get sidetracked. He's not even moving, Jac!" Marco's voice raised during the last sentence, and based on Jac's shocked face, it wasn't something that happened often.  
Nick decided Marco was alright, and he slowly loosened up, glancing at the two giant predators.

"Yeah? You know why he 'aint movin', Marco? You know why? Because I taught him a lesson!" Jac reasoned, face flushing. "And now my job is easier, and he's learned his place, and everything is fine."  
"You were about to beat him because he was pretending to sleep, Jac."

"Get out! Don't you have your own Savage to guard?"

Marco raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Jac, just remember that all these animals we are guarding- they are here because they're predators. Remember that we are predators too, and maybe show them a bit of respect. They didn't do anything to deserve this."

Jac growled. "Doesn't mean we can't have fun, Marco, god."

The bull, still standing in the doorway, opened his mouth to respond, but Jac cut him off. "No! Leave. You've got a job to do, too, Marco."

Nick watched with horror as Marco slowly, reluctantly began to retreat back down the hall and Jac turned to the fox with the cruelest grin he'd ever seen. All teeth. He started cracking his knuckles and walking towards Nick's cowering form.

Shit.

It wasn't difficult whatsoever to get to Cliffside, especially after seeing the secret exit out of town and a dark forest to hide in nearby. It was still as gloomy as ever, which put Judy's already-low spirits down just a tad, but the thought that Nick was going to be safe soon- that was all she needed to get right back up with a determined smile on her face.

Lightning split across the sky in terrifying, webbed bursts of light. It gave her seconds to map out where to do, since without the lightning it would be too dark to see anything. Even the usual lampposts had been turned off, presumably after the asylum had been 'shut down' by the Bellwether.

Judy waited for another bolt to light up the sky, and when it did, she quickly took in her surroundings. Guards- still Wolves- were hiding in nearby bushes, obviously armed. The bridge across looked more rickety than usual, but Judy had been sleeping on a rickety bed in her apartment and she wasn't going to let that slow her down.

Thunder rumbled and Judy dashed through the darkness, carefully going over the bushes and not nearby, side-stepping into her own bush and flying across the bridge faster than she had ever gone before.

Nick was the only thing going through her head.

"Carrots, what're you doing? You do know that breaking into an abandoned, government-property hospital jail for infected Predators is illegal... right?

Judy shushed her brain and Nick. For the past few hours, Nick's voice kept coming back to her. She didn't know quite yet if she was worried about being schizophrenic or if she was just telepathically communicating... because friendship?  
Either way, she was just glad to hear Nick's voice- it didn't matter if she was crazy or not.

She quietly edged over to the drainage- the way they had gotten in last time- and started the long, smelly, dark journey into the ex-hospital room. With a deep breath she scrambled up and prayed that all of this would go smoothly.

When she got to the room and slowly, carefully pushed open the door, it was a bit different than she remembered. The cages seemed to be about the same size, but each cage had what looked to be a larger, non-savage predator guarding each Savage that had been chained. (Although each guard was calmly eating lunch inside the cage, or they were doing something else to waste time. It wouldn't be difficult to get past them.) The locks and security on each glass door had been upgraded somehow, and the entire place just looked a bit off.

Judy quietly crouched to the ground and looked into each cage. There was a lamp in each section, so it was lighter than it had been when she had first come here with Nick, but it was still dim. Each savage looked to be chained somehow- most to a medi-bed but some to the wall, where they had a bit more roaming freedom.

She hopped through the cages silently, glancing into every one before moving on. Judy held her breath when she saw Mayor Lionheart- Savage- in a cell being guarded by a bull. That must be why he hasn't been responding to the pres about the re-elections lately! Judy thought, quickly running to the next few cages and glancing at the report taped to the front, along with a name and a picture of the predator before they had been shot with Night Howlers.

Wait.

Judy froze, nearly tripping over her own feet with a sudden sinking realization.

If Nick was shot up by the Night Howlers, and he was now in an asylum guarded by, well, a guard... and Nick was still Savage... how the hell was she supposed to sneak him out without getting killed?! If she was caught, Bellwether would get to her if the guard didn't snap her neck, and if she managed to free Nick, he was still a predator and he'd probably eat her!

Softly groaning, Judy continued down the hall. There was no turning back now. She'd just have to figure it out as she went along- it was her specialty.

Nicholas Wilde, Fox.

Judy skidded to a halt when she saw Nick's picture on the glass door and she almost giddily jumped when she saw a tiff of his red fur. "Nick!" She whispered, surprised that there wasn't a guard in his cell. Nick's ear perked up and Judy happily-quietly- tapped on the glass. "Nick!"

Nick uncurled himself from under the medi-bed and slowly looked up, not at all surprised. Judy gasped when she saw the blood and her eyes widened at the claw marks across his face. Seeing his arm twisted in an odd angle, and seeing darker bruises on his face and back... this wasn't what she had expected.

He wasn't Savage.

She was still gaping at him, wondering why this happened. Why didn't they just leave him alone to rot in a cell? Why do this when he clearly wasn't Savage anymore? How did he change from Savage into normal? Was there a cure? Why was Nick giving her that look?

"Nick, what happened?" She whispered urgently. Nick smiled sadly.  
"You know, you can give it up already."

"Give what up?" Judy felt lost.

"I know you aren't real, Carrots. I like the thought, though. Thanks, anyway, but you can stop."

Judy was speechless. "Nick! It's me? What are you talking about? I'm here to bust you out, just hurry and help me- we don't have much time!"

"That's new. Usually you just stand there and smile. What's the fuss this time?"

"I'm getting you out, you dumb fox!"

Nick shrugged, wincing as his shoulder bounced his clearly-broken arm. Then his face morphed into sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Judy..." Without letting her interrupt at all, he continued, and Judy was shocked as tears began rolling down his face. He sat down against the metal wall and wrapped his arms around his legs, burring his head into his knees and sobbing. "I'm sorry!" He choked out, collapsing into rushed apologies and anguished sobs. Judy was absolutely stunned.

This wasn't what she had been expecting. Not at all. The thought hadn't even passed through her mind that Nick had thought she had died, but suddenly it all made sense; he had been a Savage when she escaped, and if she was presumed dead on the news, it would obviously have reached Nick.

She felt her eyes water at the thought of Nick, waking up in an asylum, thinking that he had killed the only one who had believed in him. And then they obviously beat him, too. Miserably Judy wondered if they were torturing him. She broke down at the thought.

"Nick, it's me! I'm real! You didn't kill me!" She said, not realizing how loud she was getting. Hot, frustrated tears flew down her face.

Nick wasn't listening, however, and he started moaning in agony, putting his paws over his ears to block out the noise.

And before Judy could say another word, there was a burst of white-hot pain in the back of her head, and the last thing she saw was Nick, still curled in on himself, before the world faded into darkness.

She had failed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, if it isn't the famous Police officer, back from the dead."

Judy winced as something was pulled off her head. Sudden blue light nearly blinded her, making her squint. There was a dull ache in the back of her skull, and there was a slight ringing in her ears- for a moment she wondered if there was an alarm going off somewhere.

"Huh?" She managed to get out, her tongue feeling lopsided in her mouth. Well shit, was she on drugs?

"Judy Hopps. Didn't expect to see you so soon... well, honestly, I didn't expect to see you at all; but here you are. Welcome to the land of the living," The voice said again in sing-song. Judy strained her ears, trying to figure out what was going on beyond the lights and sounds.

"Where am I?" She rasped. Her throat was dry, but it was nothing to the headache that was coming on. She tried to get up, but her wrists were tied down to something. Was she in a chair? Judy blinked a couple of times, trying to make her blurry vision focus. (Had she been asleep?)

"You, my darling, are in a prime suite of Cliffside resort, obviously. But Judy, you've got a lot of explaining to do."  
The light turned off with a click and as Judy's eyes adjusted to the dark, she immediately recognized Dawn Bellwether and her hideous smirk. Judy's confused frown morphed into a scowl.

"You," She snarled, memories coming back in a flash. She remembered seeing Nick, and she jumped up from the seat, her wrists still painfully, awkwardly keeping her cuffed to the chair. Standing up: not a great move.

Nick. Nick was in a cage, injured, grieving, and definitely going mad.

She had thought that Nick was going to die of boredom.  
She never thought it would be like this.

"Where's Nick?!"

Bellwether frowned innocently. "The big, mean, savage fox? He's where he belongs: in a cage. Now you, on the other hand, are grating on my last nerve. First you manage to escape from a vent, was it? And then you stayed hidden from everyone for a while, and convinced Zootopia that you had died. Wow. Well done, Judy."

The rabbit felt her face heat in anger at the cruel words against her friend. "Why are you doing this?"

Her captor had a sudden break in her emotionless mask. "Because, you idiot, we Prey are constantly looking up to Predators! We pretend like we're all equal, that labels like Prey and Predator don't matter in Zootopia, but we both know that's a lie! Look around you, Judy Hopps!"

Judy gave her a disbelieving look. "There has to be another reason."

"And, you know... ruling Zootopia as mayor? Doing what I want? Getting a bigger office? Hell- there's lots of other reasons. The point is, dear Judy, that fear gets to everyone at some point. Fear doesn't leave you. You can push it away and cover it up, but we all have fears, and I happen to know a lot. The one who knows others' weaknesses is the one who has the power. I know what people fear. I know how they tick. I can make them do whatever I want."

Judy was only half-listening, mostly pretending to listen while she tried to squeeze out of the cuffs. Dawn was rambling, monologuing, and this was her chance to get out. There was a pause and Judy realized she had completely zoned out. Bellwether was looking at her impatiently.

"Uh- well, um- You won't get away with it!" Judy prayed that was a response to what Bellwether had just said. At Dawn's bemused face, Judy relaxed, managing to slip one cuff off.

"Oh, Judy. Judy, Judy, Judy. Don't you see? I already have. Now-" Bellwether's eyes narrowed at Judy's one free paw, and snapped her fingers. "I didn't want to have to do this, Judy, but if you are going to be uncooperative, I'm going to have to finish what I started."

Judy watched in horror as a huge ram walked in, carrying a G18. It was the same ram from the museum, Judy confirmed, or at least, one of them. She thought she recognized him from the train carriage as well.

He silently raised the gun and looked to Bellwether for a signal. Dawn turned to him and Judy felt her heart race. She had to think fast.

"So now you're just going to kill me? Or are you going to throw me in with Nick so he can kill me? Because that worked out so well last time," Judy said scathingly, trying to buy herself some time. It wasn't just her life on the line here, she still had to save Nick and anyone she could in the process. "Not to mention the fact that he isn't even a fucking Savage!"

That managed to make Dawn raise an eyebrow. Judy didn't curse often. Doug still awaited her signal to shoot the rabbit, and Dawn sighed before raising her hoof to give the order.

Goodbye, Judy Hopps.

In the downstairs security room, a small, frail goat- Boris- was clicking through the security cameras vacantly, his eyes on his phone.

He refreshed the feed on his social media sites, wishfully hoping something interesting would start trending, like the upcoming debates or Gazelle's new song based on political views. Instead, new trends popped up and Boris clicked on one relating to the upcoming events. However, it was linked to another hashtag- #whereisjudy.

Boris felt his eyes widen as he clicked on the trend. Slightly fuzzy camera photos popped up, all from the city's traffic camera systems. Although slightly grainy photos, there was no denying that the figure was Judy.

The public had gotten a hold of these photos, somehow. Photos with dates. Photos that said, clearly, that Judy Hopps was still alive.

And the public was demanding to hear from Judy.

Boris sprang from his seat. This was big- this was huge. Bellwether would be furious.  
"Mindy! Where's the boss?!" He asked, pulling on his shoes and starting to print out the photos.

Mindy, his fellow security partner, glanced up in alarm. "Bellwether? I heard she was upstairs, floor two. What's happened, mate?"

Boris didn't respond and grabbed the papers before flinging himself towards the elevator.

Judy Hopps was alive!

Judy squeezed her eyes shut as Bellwether started the signal. This was it. It was over.

She was going to die in this room, and she would die knowing that she never got to say goodbye to Nick. And eventually Nick would die, thinking that he had murdered her.

This wasn't the way she wanted to go.

The metal door slammed open, making everyone jump in surprise as a brown goat ran into the room, face red and panting harshly. Doug looked more than a little annoyed, but walked to the back of the room and silently leaned against the wall, cleaning off his gun as if he hadn't startled in surprise. Judy was too relieved to laugh, however.

Bellwether tapped her foot impatiently. "What is it?! What's going on, Boris?"

Boris shoved stacks of papers into Dawn's face and started jabbering loudly. "Boss, the security feed of the famous police officer is on the media I'm not sure how it got out but it did and now the public wants to see or hear from Judy because there are dates and times on the traffic monitors and-"

"Wait, what?!"

Boris took a deep breath. "These images," Boris pointed them to Bellwether, "have gotten out and now they're trending... everyone knows that Judy is alive... and the public is demanding to hear from her."

There was a long, long moment of silence, and the only noise was Boris' exhausted gasps for oxygen. Judy sank into the chair, feeling drained herself.  
The cameras.

She had completely forgotten about the cameras, and now everyone knew that she was alive. So much for going incognito, idiot. She thought bitterly. However, it might have just saved her neck, so she wasn't quite complaining.

Bellwether had an odd look on her face, but said nothing. Doug snorted from the back wall. "Well, shit. Looks like our plan failed."

Boris finally took notice of Judy- still tied to the chair, and his jaw dropped in surprise. "Is that... Judy? Judy Hopps? Is that her?" Dawn glared at him. "Thank you for telling me, Boris, now get back to the basement and make sure nothing else slips by, you moron!"

The goat hurriedly left. Bellwether snapped her fingers at Doug, dismissing him. The ram glowered at her authority over him, but promptly strutted out, still shining the G18. Judy's eyes fell on Dawn Bellwether, and suddenly Judy was hit with the realization that she had absolutely no clue what was going to happen to her now.

Escape would be nearly impossible. He had already been caught, so going unnoticed wasn't happening. And now she was in the hands of Bellwether, and they had pretty good leverage over her at the moment.

Nick.

She seemed to get that idea at the same time as Bellwether- her face lit up like a light bulb at the prospect.

"I guess the cloud does have a silver lining after all," She started smugly, looking thoughtful. "So... Judy... you ready to show the public you are alive and well? I mean, if you don't... there will be some major consequences for your fox friend."

Judy closed her eyes as horror washed over her.

They were going to make her say things against Predators or they'd hurt Nick.

She let out a frustrated moan, and buried her forehead in her arms.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick held his head in his hands, trying to block out everything.

It was a blessing when the hallucinations stopped.

It was really almost cruel. It was one thing to know he had killed his best friend. It was an entirely new thing to have to be haunted by it daily, watching as Judy came to forgive him, or yell at him, or pretended to get him out. Well... actually, that had been the first time Judy had actually said anything.

"I'm getting you out, you dumb fox!"

Nick took a deep breath, drained. The look on her face- it was the most terrible illusion yet. She had been completely distraught, she had even cried. Nick wished she hadn't looked so surprised. God, Nick wished that he knew what was going on.  
His face burned from Jac's sharp claws. Blood was slowly dripping down it, matting his once-bright orange fur and coloring it a crimson-brown. He didn't even bother wiping excess blood out of his eyes.

But his bleeding face was nothing compared to the dull ache of absolute agony in his arm. It was still turned backwards, and looking at it made Nick retch. His arm looked downright wrong, twisted like it was. Grotesque.  
Nick glanced back out the glass.  
Judy's illusion was gone.

He sank to the floor, resignation taking over his features. He didn't care anymore. What was the point? Judy was long gone, happy up in whatever form of Rabbit-Heaven existed, and Nick was getting his punishment for murdering someone. Not just someone. Judy Hopps, His mind said in frustration.

Letting gravity do it's work, the fox blinked up at the darkened ceiling blankly. Large white tiles lined the ceiling, each placed perfectly in line and each shining in the dim light. Nick started counting them, still numb with grief and pain.

One. Two. Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Ironically, Nick stopped on the thirteenth tile. It was in the corner of the room, tucked by the back wall and the wall where Jac usually sat when he wasn't tormenting Nick.

The tile had scuffle marks around the edges, and a small hole on the side, probably leading to the air duct vents going around the building.

Nick sighed and continued counting, not thinking much about the thirteenth tile, except for bitterly wondering when was the last time they had a safety check on the building. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen...

In the end, Nick had found out that the entire ceiling had forty tiles. Five wide, eight lengthwise. Each about one-by-one foot. It was a good-sized room for a prison, although the cold air and the freezing metal floor and walls made it a bit more uncomfortable, despite the size.

"I'm going mad," He muttered to himself. This was crazy. He had gotten to the point where he was talking about his cell as if he was advertising it. "I'm going absolutely insane and I'm going to die here."

It had been at least three hours since Judy's latest hallucination had vanished, and Nick couldn't help but wonder where Jac had gone. The last time Nick had seen the tiger had been after Marco left.  
Nick shuddered at the memory. He slowly put a paw on the scratches- gashes, really- that lined his face. He yelped in pain as the pad of his paw touched the raw, pink, sensitive skin. As he winced, his arm shook and Nick let out a howl as he felt the bone jumble around. Unwanted, unwarranted tears pricked at his eyes again and streamed down his face, picking up dried blood and causing bloody tears to splat across the floor.

"Dammit," Was all Nick could choke out.

The glass door slid open with a light beep, and Nick looked up, expecting to see an enraged Jac barreling towards him.

Instead it was a huge, brawny bull. It was Marco.

Who was quietly walking in with a small plastic briefcase, a roll of what looked to be white tape, a roll of duct tape, and two long heavy-plastic bars.  
Nick frowned, still lying limply on the floor like a rag-doll.

"Y-you...?" He rasped out, trying his best to sit up. Marco looked grim, but sat down beside the fox nonetheless, still saying nothing.

Nick tried again. "What're you doing here?"

The bull began opening the briefcase and unrolling the white tape, which Nick now recognized as gauze. "You remember me, yes?" Marco's voice was deep and had subtle traces of a Russian accent. He slowly put the two plastic bars up to Nick's broken arm.

"Um, y-yeah. Marco, right?"

"That is my name," Marco said quietly.

Nick looked down as Marco carefully took out tool and began cutting the plastic bars with heavy-duty scissors. Wait... is he...?  
"What are you doing?"

"Making a splint."

"Why?" Nick asked incredulously, waving his good arm around, gesturing to his position. "I'm a prisoner here. Why h-help me?"

At the question Marco paused for a brief moment before carefully placing the plastic bars on the floor and tearing off two pieces of the duct-tape. "You are injured, and I know that you have done nothing wrong. You aren't even a Savage anymore, Mr. Wilde."

Nick had no idea how to respond to that. "'Have done nothing wrong'? I k-killed my b-b-best friend! Don't you watch the news?!"

The fox let out a scream of white-hot pain and then realized that Marco had pushed his arm back into it's normal position. He panted in misery, letting a sheen of sweat linger on his forehead. He fell back, sinking into the ground once again, slightly convulsing into a spasm as the salty sweat trickled into the gashes on his face.

"Fuck," Nick cursed quietly, before adding a quick, "Thanks."

The giant bull frowned. He started splinting Nick's arm, putting the plastic against two sides and using the duct-tape to wrap around it and keep it in place. Nick let out a bark of pain as the bone was squeezed back into position. Marco muttered something like, "Don't worry, it's not broken. It's just a fracture. A spiral fracture, but with the splint in place it should be fine."

Nick nodded in gratitude, biting his tongue to stop himself from making any other noises. Marco seemed to understand.

When Marco turned away from the now-set arm and turned back to his medi-kit, Nick finally pushed himself back to a sitting position, leaning against his good arm and turning to the huge bull.  
"So you help animals here who aren't Savage?" Nick guessed, raising an eyebrow. It didn't quite seem fair, but it was understandable.

Marco grunted softly. "I try to help many prisoners here, even the Savages. However those who have been turned back usually are easier to help. Those who continue to prowl around as mindless beasts... I try to help them, but they do not understand."  
The bull dipped a cloth into some sort of liquid before swabbing it over Nick's face wounds. He let out a low growl in irritation, straining his throat to stop making the pained noises. "Antiseptic," Was all Marco said in explanation.

However Marco had just given him some sort of key information.

"Turned back? I was turned back?"

Marco looked down, almost abashed. "Yes... well, Bellwether has a head ram in charge of the Night Howler serum. His name is Doug. He's actually the assassin, usually, but he has a team that works on the darts, the serum, and the cure. Doug's team tested the cure on many patients here. It works."

"Why make a cure to a virus if you created the virus?"

"In case one of us guards got hit. In case someone they needed to use got hit... such as you." Marco fidgeted with the ointment cream he was dabbing on Nick's other minor injuries. Nick blinked.  
"Why do they need me?"

Marco shrugged. "I'm not sure why. To be honest, I thought they would just kill you after the entire news incident. However they did use the cure on you, so you must be worth something to them."

There was a long pause and Nick felt his mind whirring again. Were they just being cruel, keeping him alive? Was it revenge for something? Why keep him alive- he had already taken out a threat. The biggest threat Bellwether would ever face- a rabbit. A famous rabbit with a heart of gold and determination like steel. Stubborn, smart, and loyal. Judy Hopps really was the most perfect one Nick had ever met.

"Why do you say 'them' instead of 'we'? If you disagree with 'their' methods, why help them?"

"I have a brother. He was shot with the serum and now he is in this hospital. They do not treat him right, and sometimes they don't feed him. I stay a guard to make sure he is alive and well, and to help other innocent citizens heal correctly, like you."

Nick was slightly taken aback at how noble Marco was. "You're a hero?"

Marco burst into laughter. "I do not think so, but I would be honored if you thought of me as one. I do not think I am heroic just because I am not torturing people... I think that if I were a real hero, I would actually be saving these prisoners, not just making their stay better. But thank you, Mr. Wilde."

Neither one of them said much more. There wasn't much to say. When Marco was finished patching Nick back up, he slowly started putting his medical supplies away. He took out a small bag and gave it to Nick.  
"I'm sorry, it's not much, but it's all I could grab during my break."

Nick looked into the bag and his mouth immediately filled with saliva at the sight of Blueberries. Tears pricked at his eyes as he was reminded of Judy, but he quickly pushed them back and started eating the berries as fast as he could. "God, thank you." He managed to say in between bites. There was only a handful, but it seemed to rise Nick's spirits somewhat. Marco smiled sadly.

"Jac should be back soon. He left during his break to go drink- sometimes he does that. I can tell you've already seen that damn tiger when he is drunk."

Shuddering, Nick put down the empty bag before nodding. Marco continued. "I will stay to put him out for the night, but after that I have to get going before things get suspicious."

"Put him out for the night?"

Marco grinned widely. "You'll see."

Jac did indeed return.  
Reeking of alcohol and stumbling in with an expression that could be seen as a mixture of rage, exhaustion, and... although Nick hated to say it... lust.

Marco and Nick both saw it, and Nick found his heart hammering in his chest as Jac muttered a slurred, "Heyy, pr'tty foxy!" In a hazed growl.  
Marco narrowed his eyes and slowly stood up, still carrying his supplies, before slamming a huge fist against Jac's temple and watching him slip to the floor.

"Watch out for him, he seems to like you, and that's never a good thing."

Nick could only agree. Jac wasn't just a threat... he was also extremely creepy, and it disturbed the fox like nothing else.

Marco pulled the unconscious tiger back up and put him in the chair by the medi-bed. "Don't worry about him for tonight, just get some rest, Mr. Wilde. He'll be so hungover tomorrow that I doubt he will notice I'm the one who gave him a headache. He won't remember anything by morning."

Before the stoic bull could leave the room, Nick managed to scramble to his feet and reach out, his good paw just brushing Marco's uniform.

"Thank y-you."

Marco gave him an odd look before softly resting a hoof on Nick's shoulder. "Don't thank me. Just don't give up, Mr. Wilde."  
Before Nick could even give a response, Marco had left the cell, taking any evidence of his visit with him, and once again, Nick was alone.

Nick slept peacefully that night.


End file.
